Devices are getting smarter – the smart home of the future will consist of gadgets which speak with one another, the electric company, the cloud and all your computers – from desktops to the ones you keep in your pocket. They will tweet, post status messages on Facebook and more than likely teach you about calculus if you sit still long enough.

The only challenge of course is devices are getting more complicated – with interfaces most likely created by the same people who designed cell phones in the pre-iPhone days.

A reminder of the situation comes courtesy of Alexia Tsotsis at TechCrunch who talks about a trip to her relatives house and how the experience left her longing for all devices to be made by Apple.

If household appliance makers haven’t gotten the message about the importance of simple and easy to use GUI by now, they should get ready to watch new entrants steamroll them in the future.